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Carlisle

Edward dropped a hand on Bella's leg, gently pushing it down to the ground to stop it from bouncing, and I chuckled softly at her irritated expression. The girl sat between the two of us in the small airport, fidgeting with her hands, and Edward took one of them, rubbing his thumb over the back. "What time is it?" She asked for the seventh time, and I fought a smile.

"10:32." I answered. "Only two minutes past when you asked last time." She blushed, and I put an arm around her, squeezing her shoulder. "They'll be here in about ten minutes." Back at the hotel, Emmett and Rosalie were enjoying the morning together. It was sunny, so they were probably out on their balcony. That is, if they'd ever made it out of the bed. Jasper and Alice had called around 2 am, informing us that they were working on tracking Victoria, but no luck so far. Laurent hadn't been able to help…then again, he hadn't exactly seemed willing to help us catch the woman. Bella's leg began to bounce again, and Edward sighed softly, obviously worried about the girl.

He'd told me about their conversation, and I'd sat beside her bed all night while he'd hunted, watching as she'd slept. She'd looked terrible when I'd first arrived, and that was after a full night's sleep. Even after she'd eaten…but that night, asleep in the hotel bed, wrapped in a sheet, she almost normal. Almost. She was still thin. She still looked exhausted, even as she slept. But she looked more like Bella. All I could think about was his heartbroken face as he'd told me why she hadn't contacted her mother…all I could think about were her words…she couldn't be a parent again. She couldn't deal with taking care of her mother, of taking care of the person who was supposed to be taking care of her.

No wonder she was nervous. She hadn't seen her mother since she'd left home to come here…since before her father had died. I had no idea how Renee was dealing with the death of her ex-husband, but I was not going to let her use Bella to deal with it. She wasn't going to rely on Bella for comfort or for absolution…because Bella couldn't handle it. She couldn't bear that on top of everything else she was going through. 'Edward, why don't you take her to breakfast? I'll meet Renee and Phil.' I suggested silently, and my son nodded.

"Come on, Bella. Let's find you something to eat."

"Not hungry." She told him simply, her leg still bouncing, and he chuckled.

"Oh, no. You need to eat." I scolded gently, moving my arm and turning to her. "I'll meet Renee and Phil. You eat. I'll bring them to you once they arrived." She hesitated, glancing at the hall where the people arriving were collecting their baggage. "I promise not to lose them." She smiled a bit reluctantly, and I kissed her hair. "You have time to get some breakfast." She nodded, letting Edward pull her to her feet, and they headed back towards the restaurants, Bella glancing back at me everyone once in a while.

As they left, I watched the board, unable to keep my mind from going back to Bella. I had to wonder, what had her childhood been like? Did her mother ever provide her with any comfort…any stability in her life? How many men had she dated? How many men had she brought into her home while Bella was a child? I knew that Bell had done the grocery shopping, managed the finances…done the cooking and the cleaning.

I felt a twinge of resentment for Renee that I did my best to suppress. It would do us no good…it would do Bella no good if I were unkind to her mother. And Renee was her mother, no matter how I felt about her. I would be as kind as I could manage…unless she did something to hurt Bella. Then it would be a bit harder. My phone chimed in my pocket, and I pulled it out, checking the name and smiling a bit when I read the name. "Their plane's early. Bella won't be able to eat if she sees her mom and Phil right off…her mom's going to be hysterical…she's worried. And Phil will try to calm her down, but I think…"

"Hello, Alice." I rolled my eyes when she sighed.

"Hi Carlisle."

"I'm sure I've taught you how to answer a phone."

"Carlisle!" She whined, and I had to laugh a little.

"I'll take care of it. I will try and calm her down before she sees Bella."

"Thank you." I heard Jasper speaking in the background, reminding me of what they were doing at home. "Any luck with Victoria?"

"No. Not yet. Laurent was useless." She groaned. "Jasper tried, but he would barely talk to him. And neither of us are trackers. I'm keeping a close eye on Bella though. She's safe for now. Keep her close, okay?"

"Of course." I glanced up when the board changed, and I stood. "Her plane's…"

"Here, I know. See you." I chuckled when my daughter hung up on me, pocketing the phone and heading over to the baggage claim. I spotted Renee almost instantly…she was the one almost sprinting towards me, tugging along a younger looking, embarrassed man.

"Renee, slow down." He was mumbling, obviously uncomfortable as she stopped right in front of me, looking panicked.

"Dr. Cullen! Is she okay? Where is she? You know you didn't have to do this for us…I can't thank you enough for taking care of her. And first class…that was so kind of you. You have to let us pay you back…that's just too much. And we can't stay for long. You know we appreciate it so much…I've missed my little Bella so much but I have work and he has the team and I know you offered to pay for the hotel but…"

"Mrs. Dwyer." I interrupted, fighting a laugh at the look on Phil's face. "Mr. Dwyer, it's good to see you again. Esme and I were happy to fly you out here to see Bella, and we've already reserved a room for you in the hotel where we are staying. Edward just took Bella to get some breakfast. You can stay for as long as you feel comfortable. We're not sure how long we're staying, but your plane tickets are flexible, and your hotel room is booked for the next three weeks. As for Bella, she's taken her father's death hard, but she's been doing a little better."

"Is she…in therapy? Has she talked to anyone?"

"No. She didn't want to speak with a therapist, and I haven't pushed her. She seems to be coping pretty well at the moment…she's been spending a lot of time with my family, Edward especially, but the boys care about her as well, and Alice adores her."

"She…what about Billy and Jacob? Does she like living with them?" I fought my initial reaction. She'd allowed her daughter to live with some man she barely knew and his son...I couldn't understand. I couldn't understand the thought of letting my child live with people I didn't know, especially have suffering such a loss. Of course, my children lived away from us all the time, but they were always close, always in contact.

"I believe so. She and Jacob have become pretty close." I looked back towards the food court, spotting Bella easily. Her back was to us as she sat across from Edward, and he was laughing at something she said. He reached out, taking her hand as she bit into her sandwich, and I smiled softly.

"And…and her and Edward?" She hesitated, glancing over at Phil. "Because…I know Edward is your son and I'm sure you love him, but Bella is my daughter…" Phil started to say something, but I shook my head.

"Mrs. Dwyer…"

"No, please. Call me Renee, Dr. Cullen."

"Of course, Renee. Then please, call me Carlisle. My wife and I love Bella…we see her as a part of our family. I love my son as well, but we want the best for both of them. Their relationship is serious, but they are always supervised. Edward adores her, but more impotently, he respects her." One thing about Edward; that was 100% true. He was old fashioned compared to today's standards, mostly a result of his upbringing and the time in which he'd been born. Edward was a gentleman in every sense of the word, which was why I was always comfortable leaving them alone together, even though she was only seventeen. He would never do anything to hurt her.

"You think…how serious are they?"

"Fairly serious…although Edward is being careful, though, and they're taking things slowly. Like I said, they are supervised." Well, that wasn't completely true. But I knew that Edward didn't want to risk her…he was reluctant to take their relationship any further, especially considering that she was human. That was something he would probably want to talk about eventually, but it was still early in their relationship. He wanted to wait anyway, and I had to support that. Bella was young. She wanted to join our family…as one of us. They would have plenty of time to take their relationship further when she was like us. Regardless, although my son was technically a seventeen year old, I didn't make it a habit to get involved in the love lives of my children.

"Thank you, again, for taking care of her." Phil broke in, reaching out to take my hand, and I shook it with a small smile. I didn't know how he felt about Bella, but Bella was happy that he made her mother happy, so that was enough for me.

"Of course. We see Bella as a part of our family. My wife is anxious to meet you…she's back at the hotel with two of my other children. We were all going to go out for dinner tonight, and you are welcome to join us." I invited. "Bella was hoping you would come…" I knew that would get her. She nodded, and I smiled. "Why don't you come back to the hotel and take the day to get settled. Bella should be about finished."

I knew that she was finished. Bella was throwing her trash away, and I heard them speaking quietly as they approached. "Don't worry…Carlisle and I will be right here. I promise." I hated that he had to reassure her…that she was nervous. "Tonight will be fine. After dinner, I'll take you to the beach." She laughed softly, and I had to smile. She loved the beach, apparently. I knew that Emmett wanted to have a sandcastle building contest with her, which I, for one, wanted to witness. I wondered if we could all make a night of it.

"Bella! Oh, Bella!" Renee rushed past me, and I sighed softly when she threw her arms around Bella, clutching her daughter to her, and resting her head against Bella's shoulder. Edward took a step back, his jaw clenched, his arms crossed, and I gave Bella a reassuring smile when she looked up at me, looking overwhelmed already as she patted her mom's back. Phil walked over, reaching out and shaking Edward's hand, then put a hand on Bella's shoulder. She smiled up at him, nodding a bit, and he backed off, putting an arm back around Renee as Edward took Bella's hand.

"I'm sure you'd like to get back to the hotel. You can rest after such a long flight." I put in, moving to stand by Bella. I could tell that her mother wanted to talk with her…that her first response was to go to her daughter for comfort. I felt a flare of resentment that I couldn't help, then shoved it down. We headed out, standing under the awning, and I put a hand on Bella's back as two cars drove around.

"Bella, you'll ride with us, won't you?" Renee all but pleaded, reaching out to take Bella's hand, and after a moment, Bella nodded, squeezing Edward's hand.

"Yeah…sure." She stammered, glancing back at us as she stepped forward, and Edward gave her a reassuring smile as they all climbed into the car, then turned to me with an almost panicked expression.

"Edward, we're following them to the hotel. You'll see her in twenty minutes."

My son shook his head, dropping heavily into the backseat. "She still doesn't get it." He tried to explain, speaking softly. The man in the front seat glanced back at him, and Edward rolled his eyes, switching to German. "She doesn't see her. She doesn't see Bella. She…she doesn't even know her. To her, Bella is…she's...she's always let Bella do whatever she wanted, because she thought Bella didn't need her…because Bella never let on that she needed her. She relied on her to cook and clean and shop…because she thought Bella wanted to."

"But Bella did those things because she thought she had to." I guessed, and Edward nodded.

"She thinks that Bella seems fine. Renee thinks that Bella being quite means that she's okay, and that we're overreacting."

"Her father died." I couldn't help but put in. "She watched her father die. How could anyone be okay after that?" Edward shook his head.

"She doesn't know Bella." He told me simply. "She never bothered to."

When we pulled up to the hotel, the first thing Edward did was jump out of the car, moving immediately to Bella's side. She gave him a small, reassuring smile, and Renee laughed. "We were just talking about Billy and Jacob. They sound wonderful. I'm glad she found such a nice family to stay with." Edward gave a strained smile, and I nodded.

"Billy and Jacob are some of the kindest people she could have stayed with. And I believe Billy and Charlie were good friends." Renee nodded, her smile turning almost too enthusiastic.

"Oh yeah, they were best friends. Always fishing together! Remember, Bella? Charlie would always take her over there and Bella and Jacob would play…remember how your dad would always try and teach you to fish, Bella? Oh, what did you do with all his fishing stuff?" She asked, laughing a little, and I watched the blood drain from Bella's face as she tried to smile.

"Um…yeah. I gave it to Billy."

"Oh that was sweet of you. What about that old radio you got him for fathers day? Remember? You saved up for months…" I saw Edward's jaw clench, and I stepped in quickly as Bella closed her eyes. Phil put a hand on Renee's shoulder, looking worriedly from his wife to Bella and Edward.

"I'm sure you'd like to rest after the flight, Renee. Phil. Here are your room keys…"

"Bella, I'm…" Renee reached out to her daughter, but I stepped in between them when I smelled saltwater….Bella sniffed softly behind me and Edward murmured to her.

"Come on. Let's go upstairs." He told her. "Emmett rented something on pay-per-view…let's make sure he's not buying porn with Carlisle's credit card." I smiled back at them as he led her away.

"I didn't…" I cut her off with a smile, lifting my hand.

"You don't have to worry about Bella. She's just having a hard time since her father…why don't you rest and we'll all have dinner tonight." She hesitated, looking back at Phil who gave her an encouraging nod.

"Okay…thank you." She clutched the room key in her hand and I sighed, hurrying up the stairs to check on my children.

Emmett

Edward had an arm around Bella as he led her into the room, but he shook his head when I started to stand. Rosalie looked over at me, and then at Edward. We watched as he led her over to the sofa, putting an arm around her shoulder, and I frowned when I realized that her eyes were red…her breath was shaky, her hands clenched in her lap, and I moved, sitting beside her. "Hey, kid." Rosalie moved from her spot by the window and joined us, flipping on the TV.

"Edward said you bought a movie?" She was trying…she was giving me a tiny smile, and even if I hadn't known her, even if it hadn't been my sister, I would have known that she was upset. She was trying so hard not to cry…she couldn't talk about it, whatever it was that was bothering her, so I took the remote.

"Yep." I answered cheerfully.

"And…Edward also said it might be porn." I snorted, ruffling her hair and flipping through to the pay-per-view channels.

"Why would I need to watch porn when I'm in a hotel room with my wife?" I asked, and she blushed, focusing on the TV. Rosalie elbowed me, mumbling at me to behave. Edward smiled, obviously grateful to me for distracting her, but she was still upset. So I started the movie, barely watching it as I looked at Edward over her head. Beside me, Bella curled up, her feet tucked up beside my legs, and I reached back, dropping a light blanket over her. Edward had an arm around her, her head resting on his chest, and when she was focused on the movie, I finally asked him what had happened.

"Her mother…" He was obviously frustrated, but he was working to hide it so that Bella wouldn't notice.

"What did she do?"

"She's insensitive." He answered my wife. "She…started talking about Charlie and bringing up old memories and…who knows what she said to her in the car." He was rubbing his hand up and down her arm, his lips moving to her hair briefly. "She's still upset about him."

"Of course she is." I grumbled. "She watched her father die. How could she be over it?"

"Her mother was asking what she decided to do with some of Charlie's things." Rosalie sighed beside me.

"I'm sure she didn't mean any harm." I spoke up.

"No…she wouldn't purposefully hurt Bella." He admitted, shaking his head, them smiled slightly when Bella looked up at him. "Was that enough for breakfast?" He asked her, and she nodded, resting her head back on his chest once more as the movie continued playing. "She wouldn't purposefully hurt her…she's just…clueless." He shook his head in frustration. "We're going out to dinner tonight. You're coming."

"To dinner?" I clarified, lifting an eyebrow. Rosalie, too, looked skeptical.

"We've done it before." He answered nonchalantly.

"Do we have to be there?"

"Do it for Bella." He was asking this time. "Please, Emmett?" I rolled my eyes.

"Of course we're coming. What do we have to eat?"

"I think Carlisle made reservations at an Italian restaurant."

"Yumm. Pasta." I grimaced, making him laugh quietly.

"It's better than Chinese." Edward shook his head.

"No way. Have you had the unfortunate experience of sweet and sour chicken?" He asked, and Rosalie laughed softly, turning up the TV a little so that Bella wouldn't notice us talking. Edward tried to focus on the movie once more, but he was obviously distracted.

It was only a minute later that the door opened, and I lifted a hand in greeting when Carlisle walked in. "How is she?" He asked softly.

"She's okay…I think she likes the movie." Rosalie snorted and our father came into the room, sitting down on Edward's other side. Bella looked up at him with a smile that he returned.

"We're going to go out to dinner around 6 tonight if that's okay with you. Your mother and step-father are probably going to stay in until then, so you and Edward are free to do as you'd like until them." She nodded, and thankfully went back to the movie.

"Told you she liked the movie." I had to put in, and Carlisle laughed quietly.

"Good job Emmett." He told me with a grin. "Where's Esme?"

"She just went to get some food for Bella's room." I told him. "So whose up for sandcastles tonight? I gotta teach Bella here how to build one." Bella laughed.

"I know how to build a sandcastle." She argued, and I ruffled her hair.

"You probably know how to build a sand shack. I'm going to teach you how to build a sand castle. And then, we're going swimming."

"Um…so how long are we staying?" She wondered, and Carlisle glanced over. "As long as you'd like." He answered simply.

"But…what about Friday? The dance?" Edward's gaze was incredulous.

"You want to go to the dance?"

"No…I mean…well…we already got a dress and you wanted to go and Alice was so excited…" He chuckled, shaking his head.

"It's a bit late for us to go back…but we can do something on Friday. I think Alice packed your dress." He kissed her quickly, and she laughed softly, responding by putting her arms around him, and Carlisle, Rosalie, and I turned back to the TV as the movie played.

I wasn't exactly looking forward to dinner. Of course, I never looked forward to pretending to eat human food…or actually eating it. But hopefully we'd all have a good time afterward. Bella liked the beach and I wanted her to have some fun…poor kid needed to relax. And Edward too. I just hoped Jasper and Alice would find Victoria soon…and that they would let us help them kill her. Carlisle and Esme could help watch after Bella and keep Edward company while Rose and I got to have some fun.

I also wasn't particularly fond of Bella's mother…not that I'd ever met the woman, but she had hurt my little sister, and I didn't like anyone that hurt my little sister. She'd almost been crying when Edward had brought her in after a few minutes with the woman, and she was almost back to normal. I didn't want her to be hurt again. That kid had gone through enough.

Bella

After the movie, Emmett and Rosalie disappeared into their bedroom, and Edward pulled me out of their room and into our own where he sat me down on the bed, then sat beside me, his lips finding mine. "I love you." He murmured with a smile, stroking my face. I put a hand up, running it through his soft hair and making it stand on end.

"I love you too."

"I just want you to know…you don't have to talk to me. About anything. But if you want to talk, I'm here. Anytime. Okay?" I didn't. I didn't want to talk. Not yet. But I nodded, knowing I might want to later. If I was going to talk to anyone, it would be him. "I'm sorry about your mother. I'm sorry she upset you. If you don't feel up to dinner tonight, then we don't have to go." I laughed.

"You're making Emmett and Rosalie go." I pointed out. He shrugged.

"They can keep her company."

"If they have to go, I'm pretty sure I have to go." Edward didn't argue…I supposed he knew that, in some way, I did want to go. I had missed my mother…it just hurt. She would want to talk about my father. I didn't know if I could do that. I was just glad Edward and the others would be there with me. "So…Friday?" I wondered. I hadn't exactly been looking forward to the school dance, but Alice's planning did have me a little excited to see Edward's reaction to my dress. Plus, a night alone with Edward sounded wonderful, no matter what we did, no matter what we were doing.

"You'll find out." He told me with a cheeky smile. "For now, we have several hours until you need to get ready for dinner. So…what would you like to do?" He wondered, moving a stray hair behind my ear, then kissing me in the place where it had rested against my cheek. I turned my face, returning the kiss, and then I was on top of him, his head resting against a pillow as he kissed me, his arms firm around, wandering up and down my back. I gasped when he moved against me, my legs falling to either side of him, and I felt him smile against my mouth.

"This. I would like to do this." I whispered against his mouth.

"This? All day?" He chuckled, but I didn't give him more than a second before I moved down to his throat, encouraged when he groaned. "I think maybe…we should…think of something else." I moved back up to his lips, partially to shut him up, and partially because I'd missed them.

"I could do this all day." I told him when he pulled away for a moment, and his eyes were filled with a mix of desire and what looked like fear.

"We really shouldn't." He told me softly, then misinterpreted my hurt look. "Bella, you cannot really believe that I don't want you." He gave a low, frustrated growl, then kissed me again. "Bella, I love you. I want you. But you don't understand how easy it would be to hurt you. Once we change you…then we can do whatever we want. And believe me…" He kissed me again, this time moving his hands up my waist, and I waited, anticipation building as his hands moved upward, but he paused, his thumb rubbing over my ribcage. "I am looking forward to that day. I plan on keeping you to myself for a long…" He kissed my cheeks, then moved back to my mouth. "…long, long time." I had to laugh when he kissed my forehead, then helped me sit up on his lap. "Until then, we're going to be careful."

"I don't want to be careful." I pouted, making him chuckle.

"Well, I want you to live long enough for us to change you, and then, we don't have to be careful anymore."

"I don't care." He laughed aloud, kissing me one more time, setting me back on the bed, then stood.

"Let me ask again. What would you like to do today? Besides…that." He grinned, and it was so good to see him smiling again that I had to stop pouting. He'd been so worried about me…I loved it when he smiled.

"Well, its sunny, so the beach is out."

"You can go to the beach." He argued, gesturing toward the balcony. "I'll be able to see you."

"It wouldn't be any fun without you." I shrugged, and he smiled, leaning down and kissing my forehead. "We could…watch another movie." He lifted an eyebrow. "What? There's not a lot to do in a hotel room with a vampire…well, not a lot he'll let me do." Edward snorted, dropping back onto the bed with me, and put his arm around me, falling back so that we lay side by side on the comforter.

"Another movie it is then. And tonight, we all go to the beach." I nodded, resting more forehead against his for just a moment, making his eyes soften as he held me.

"I'd forgotten about the radio." I whispered, keeping my eyes on his. "I wanted to buy him a present, but I didn't know what he'd like. So I saved up and bought him an old radio of all things. He loved it…he took it with him to work and put it on his desk…he told everyone in Forks that his little girl had bought it for him." I felt my breath catch, and Edward's lips moved against my cheeks, gently kissing where the tears fell. "And he always tried to teach me how to fish, but I was never interested. So he just took me out on the boat, and I'd read for hours…while he fished. He just…he just wanted to spend the time with me, and I never…" I was cut off when Edward pulled me to his chest, my body shaking with the tears. "I hated Forks. It was so cold and rainy…but I'd give anything…if I could see him again. I…I would love it there, if I could just see my dad again."

Edward didn't say anything. He didn't have to. Instead, he held me on the bed as I sobbed into his arms, his lips against my hair or my forehead, and he waited. He waited until I could stop crying, and then he lifted me in his arms, carrying me over to the sofa, and sat down, still holding me on his lap. Switching the TV on, he chose an old movie he knew I liked, and together we sat, his arms never moving from their place around me.

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